Sinner follows up Australian Open win with Rotterdam title

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Jannik Sinner won the ABN Amro Open on Sunday in his first tournament since capturing the Australian Open title.

The top-seeded Sinner, playing his second straight Rotterdam final, beat fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-4.

Sinner hit 23 winners and prevailed despite wasting a break advantage in both sets.

"I am really proud with the level that I played throughout this whole week," Sinner said. "We have been in tough situations but we handled it the right way. We will always try to improve, it is the most important."

Sinner extended his perfect record against his Australian opponent to 7-0.

Sinner, who lost last year's final to Daniil Medvedev, is set to rise to a career-high No. 3 in the ATP rankings on Monday, the highest ever for an Italian man.